USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Watertown > Historical sketch of Watertown, in Massachusetts, from the first settlement of the town to the close of its second century > Part 9
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behaviour on his part. It was in the course of his ministry, that New England was agitated by what was called the great Revival of religion, a period of strong excitement, when many a clergyman was ready to say, in the exulting language used by Whitefield, that he had every day " a constant levee of wounded souls, and many quite slain by the Law." In this commotion Mr. Storer and his parish seem to have had no share. His name does not appear among those of the pastors, who gave their testimony at the meeting in Boston, July 7th, 1743, nor among those who, having been absent from that meeting, afterward communicated their attestations in letters. He had too much sobriety and calmness to be carried along by the force of sympathy or spiritual rivalry, in an excitement, the result of which, he might foresee, would at least be of a doubtful character.
Mr. Storer has left on record 1419 baptisms, and the names of 328 persons received into the church, during his ministry .*
We come now to the period, in which Watertown became more intimately connected with the public proceedings of a fearful crisis. The second Provin- cial Congress assembled at Cambridge on the 1st of February, 1775.+ Their session was continued till the 16th of that month, when they adjourned to meet at Concord on the 22d of March. At that time and place, accordingly they were reassembled ; and after transacting the important business before them, they again adjourned to the 10th of May. In specifying the time, however, they made a provision, that, if circum- stances should require it, they might be called together sooner, and that, if this should be necessary, notice should be given by the members in Cambridge and
* For the particulars, which I have stated concerning his family, I am indebted to the kindness of the Rev. J. P. B. Storer of Walpole, Mass., one of the descendants of a brother of this Watertown minister.
+ Jonathan Brown represented Watertown in this Congress.
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the vicinity. In consequence of the expedition of the British troops from Boston on the 19th of April, and its bloody result, a meeting was suddenly summoned at Concord on the 22d ; and having appointed a chair- man and clerk, they immediately adjourned to Water- town. Here the Congress assembled, during the remainder of the session, in the meeting-house. Jo- seph Warren, Esq., the early and lamented martyr in the cause of freedom on the memorable 17th of June, presided at their deliberations after the Hon. John Hancock had been chosen delegate to the Con- tinental Congress at Philadelphia. A committee of nine persons was chosen to collect the most exact evidence concerning the facts in the affair of the 19th, at Lexington ; and another committee to draw up an account of all the transactions of that day.
The third and last Provincial Congress, consisting for the most part of the same members who composed the second, was chosen, and met at Watertown on the 31st of May. They held their sessions, as before, in the meeting-house. The Rev. Dr. Langdon, pre- sident of the College, preached a sermon before them, appropriate to the occasion, from Isaiah i. 26. ' Jo- seph Warren, Esq .* was chosen President, and Samuel Freeman, Jr., Secretary. This session lasted till the 19th of July. The Congress were busy in adopting such measures, as the distracted state of the Colony required. The suffering poor of Boston were particu- larly objects of attention ; and every thing was done that could be done, to provide for their removal and support. Means were likewise adopted to procure arms, and to save provisions and supplies from falling into the hands of the British.
* Warren went from Watertown, with all the alacrity of patriotic feeling, on the morning of the 17th of June. Just before his departure, I am informed, he entreated the ladies of the house, in which he board- ed, to prepare and procure as great a quantity of lint and bandages as possible, observing, " The poor fellows will want them all before night." He was succeeded, as President of the Congress, by the Hon. James Warren of Plymouth.
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This Provincial Congress was succeeded by a Gen- eral Court, or General Assembly of the Colony (as it was sometimes styled), chosen in conformity with the colony charter. They convened at the meeting- house in Watertown on the 26th of July .* The Hon. James Warren was chosen Speaker, and Samuel Freeman, Clerk. The General Assembly continued their sessions at Watertown till the 9th of November, 1776, when they adjourned to meet at the State House in Boston on the 12th of the same month. Their measures were such as the state of the times required. In the first session, acts were passed con- firming the doings of " the several Provincial Con- gresses," making and emitting bills of public credit, declaring the rights of certain towns in Massachusetts Bay to elect representatives, removing officers, civil and military, who held their places by the appoint- ment of any Governor or Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts Bay, &c. At a subsequent session, measures were adopted to encourage the manufacture of powder and fire-arms, to fit out armed vessels to defend the seacoast, to provide for a more equal representation in the General Court, to raise troops from time to time, and such other proceedings as are familiarly known in the history of that period.
Among the few newspapers printed at that time, was " The Boston Gazette and Country Journal." It had been published for some time in Boston by Edes & Gill,t and was distinguished by the spirited and fearless tone, in which it defended the American cause. The paper obtained, as we may readily sup- pose, great popularity and a wide circulation. Such a publication, of course, could not be continued in
* The Council met in the house of the late Mr. Edmund Fowle, now occupied by his widow. This house was selected for the purpose on account of its vicinity to the meeting-house, which enabled the twy bodies to have easy and immediate intercourse.
+ For an account of these printers, see Thomas's History of Printing in America. Vol. I. p. 341.
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Boston, while the town was in the possession and power of the British. Notwithstanding the avenues between the metropolis and the country were as much as possible closed, Edes found means to escape by night in a boat. Gill, who had less zeal or courage than his partner, remained in Boston, and lived in seclusion till the danger was over. When Edes fled from Boston, he took with him a press, and a few types. With these he established himself at Water- town, where he opened his printing-house, continued the publication of the Gazette, and was employed as printer by the Provincial Congress and the General Assembly. Though his facilities for printing were but poor and slender, his zeal , and diligence enabled him to surmount all difficulties .* " The Boston Ga- zette and Country Journal " was published in Water- town from June 5th, 1775, to October 28th, 1776, when, the British having evacuated Boston, the editor returned and again established his paper there.
In this Gazette were published those letters of Hutchinson, which were discovered at his house in Milton, and inflamed into stronger violence the obloquy
* " The printing he executed at Watertown did not, indeed, do much credit to the art ; but the work, at this time, done at other presses, was not greatly superior. The war broke out suddenly, and few of any profession were prepared for the event. All kinds of printing materi- als had been usually imported from England ; even ink for printers had not, in any great quantity, been made in America. This resource was, by the war, cut off; and a great scarcity of these articles soon ensued. At that time, there were but three small paper-mills in Massachusetts ; in New Hampshire, there were none ; and Rhode-Island contained on- ly one, which was out of repair. The paper which these mills could make, fell far short of the necessary supply. Paper, of course, was extremely scarce ; and what could be procured was badly manufactur- ed, not having more than half the requisite labor bestowed upon it. It was often taken from the mill wet and unsized. People had not been in the habit of saving rags, and stock for the manufacture of paper was obtained with great difficulty. Every thing like rags was ground up together to make a substitute for paper. This, with wretched ink and yvorn-out types, produced miserable printing." Thomas's History of Printing. Vol. I. p. 343. The appearance of Edes's paper, at the time referred to, corresponds to what might be expected from this descrip- tion.
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which the Governor had before incurred .* The pub- lication of these letters began in the first number of the paper which was printed at Watertown, and continued nearly a year. They were occasionally accompanied with comments, intended to expose the duplicity of Hutchinson, and to keep the public indignation warm. Political essays of the most spirited character, exhor- tations and addresses to the people, were continually appearing in the Gazette, some of them marked with talent and fairness, and some with that heedless vio- lence which is always the growth of strong political s excitement. It is remarkable that no particular ac- count is given in this paper of the affair at Lexington and Concord on the 19th of April, nor of the battle of Bunker Hill. Brief allusions are sometimes made to these events ; and in July a short statement occurs of the killed and wounded on both sides at Charlestown on the 17th of June, but without comment. It seems difficult to account for the omission of all details con-
* Gordon, Vol. I. p. 344.
+ The following " Extract of a letter from a gentleman in America to his friend in London," copied from the Gazette for November 6th, 1775. is an illustration of the pleasantry, with which the resolute spirit of the times occasionally displayed itself: the person alluded to in the letter, I suppose to have been the celebrated Dr. Price :
" Tell our dear friend, Dr., P-, who sometimes has his doubts about our firmness, that America is determined and unanimous, a very few tories excepted, who will probably soon export themselves. Britain, at the expence of three millions, has killed 150 Yankees this campaign, which is £20,000 a head ; and at Bunker's Hill she gained a mile of ground, half of which she has since lost again by not taking post on Plough'd Hill. During the same time, 60,000 children have been born in America. From these data, his excellent mathematical head will easily calculate the time and expense requisite to kill us all, and conquer our whole territory."
In the paper of April Ist, 1776, is the following jeu d'esprit in reference to the evacuation of Boston : "We hear that last Lord's day se'nnight, the Rev. Mr. Bridge of Chelmsford preached a most animating discourse from these words in the 2d of Kings, vii. 7. 'Wherefore they arose, and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.' This passage of Scripture is a good description of the late flight of our ministerial enemies ; for they left their tents, and their horses, and a number of tories for asses."
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cerning matters of such deep and agitating interest, as these must have possessed.
The inhabitants of Boston, when they were driven from home, and dispersed in the country, had several town meetings in Watertown, which were summoned by means of notifications in the Gazette. At one of these, September 5th, 1775, Mr. William Cooper was chosen representative of Boston in place of the Hon. Samuel Adams, who had been elected to a seat in the Council. Another meeting was held November 28th, 1775, to choose a representative for Boston in the room of the notorious Dr. Church, who had been expelled from the House, for attempting to carry on a secret and criminal correspondence with the enemy. Committees, appointed to manage affairs for the people of Boston, frequently met and transacted their business at Water- town. In 1776 the anniversary of the fifth of March was observed, in the usual form, by the people of Bos- ton at the meeting-house in Watertown. The Hon. Benjamin Austin was moderator of the meeting on this occasion; the Rev. Dr. Cooper offered the prayers ; and the Rev. Peter Thacher of Malden delivered an oration on the dangerous tendency of standing armies in time of peace, which is said to have been received with warm and universal approbation .*
The inhabitants of Watertown bore their part of the losses and burdens of the country, at this perilous pe- riod. One of their number was killed on the 19th of April t ; and many others, during the war, either died by sickness in camp, or fell on the field of battle.
* This oration was printed at Watertown by Edes, and the following fable from Phædrus was affixed to it for a motto : Asellum in prato timidus pascebat senex : Is, hostium clamore subito territus, Suadebat Asino fugere, ne possent capi. At ille lentus : " Quæso, num binas mihi Clitellas impositurum victorem putas ?"
Senex negavit. " Ergo, quid refert mea, Cui serviam, clitellas dum portem meas ? " LIB. I. 15.
+ This was Mr. Joseph Coolidge.
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Early in 1775 they granted money " to encourage the learning of the military art," bound themselves by cov- enants to promote in certain specified modes the inter- ests of liberty, collected and secured arms * and am- munition, and in general entered heartily into the measures for defence and protection, which were com- mon at that time. They raised their proportion of soldiers, and granted them the usual bounty in addition "to the pay they received from the public chest.t
In the first stage of the great contest, the object of the Americans unquestionably was not independence, but the restoration, on just principles, of the ancient and peaceful union between the colonies and the mother country. But the natural consequence of open hostil- ities was to carry the feelings of people rapidly beyond this point ; for the absurdity of continuing to profess allegiance to a government, against which they were in arms, must have pressed itself on their notice. Indica- tions, not to be mistaken, of a strong wish for bold and decisive measures to sever the tie of allegiance, which had now lost all its charm, were manifested early in 1776. When the Continental Congress sounded the feelings of their fellow citizens on this subject, through the medium of the Provincial Assemblies, they found themselves anticipated, or at least promptly supported, by the people in the disposition to take the final step. One of the many instances of this state of feeling we find in the following vote at a town meeting in Water-
* A committee was appointed " to mount the great guns," &c. This ex- pression refers, I presume, to certain cannons, for which some British officers came to Watertown to search; but they searched in vain, the pieces being effectually concealed in a barn. At the beginning of the" war, there was a depository of arms and military stores, under guard, at the house of Mr. Edward Richardson, who kept an inn at the Eastern part of the town, where one is kept now.
+ In March, 1777, the sum which had been granted by the town, in this way, to officers and soldiers, amounted to £604. At a later date, May, 1778, the town " yoted a further sum of £5 to each of the men that went to the White Plains in the year 1776; and that the men that went to the Northward in the year 1776 with Capt. Edward Harrington be allowed a further sum of £1. 13s. 4d. each."
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town on the 20th of May, 1776: " A resolve of the late House of Representatives, relating to the Congress of the Thirteen United Colonies, declaring them inde- pendent of Great Britain, being read, the question was put to know the mind of the town, whether they will stand by, and defend the same with their lives and estates ; and it passed in the affirmative unanimously." Congress had likewise, in May, 1776, recommended to the several colonies to frame and adopt such govern- ments, as their circumstances might require. These were to be not temporary regulations, such as had been resorted to before, but so far permanent as to be un- limited with respect to time. The subject came be- fore the Massachusetts Legislature in September of the same year, and some preparatory measures were adopt- ed. On the 7th of October, the people of Watertown " took into consideration a resolve of the General Court of the 17th of September last, relating to a form of government ; and after some debate thereon, they · voted unanimously, that they give their consent that the present House of Representatives, with the Council, should form a plan of government for this state, to be laid before the several towns in the same, for their con- sideration, before it be ratified .*
After the capture of Burgoyne's army, Watertown was selected as one of the places, at which it was pro- posed to quarter the officers. This proposal was zeal- ously resisted by the inhabitants. Taking alarm at the prospect of having such inmates in their houses, at a meeting in December, 1777, they declared their opin- ion " that the quartering the British officers among the inhabitants of Watertown at this time would be very dangerous to the peace and safety of the town, as well as the publick, and therefore they cannot give their
* The effort at this time made towards obtaining a Constitution for the State was unsuccessful. See Bradford's Hist. of Mass. from July 1775 to 1789, p. 117 and 158. The Constitution proposed in 1778 was rejected by Watertown, as it was by a great majority of other towns.
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consent thereto." Some of the people, however, were inclined to furnish accommodations for the officers in their families. To such the abovementioned vote was intended as a prohibition. It was also communicated to the Deputy Quarter Master by the Selectmen. The objection made by the Watertown people on this occa- sion amounted probably to nothing more, than the re- pugnance naturally felt by plain and sober citizens to having military strangers and foreigners in the midst of them. Some of the officers were quartered among them, notwithstanding their remonstrances, and some of them were stationed at Angier's Corner in Newton, and other places in the neighbourhood.
January 17th, 1778, the representative of the town was instructed to use his influence and give his aid to- wards ratifying and confirming the Articles of Confed- eration and perpetual Union among the United States of America, as agreed upon and proposed by Congress.
It is time to return to the ecclesiastical affairs of the town, which, in the midst of the momentous political transactions of the period, lost the prominence usually belonging to them in a New England village. Immedi- ately after Mr. Storer's death, the town voted, accord- ing to the custom of the times, " to set apart a day for fasting and prayer, to seek the Divine presence and di- rection relating to the settling another Gospel minister." They invited those clergymen, who had borne the pall at Mr. Storer's funeral, to officiate on the occasion .* From that time the services of the pulpit were per- formed by various preachers, engaged from time to time, as they were wanted. Among these was Mr. Samuel Henshaw, who was paid " the sum of thirty pounds in full for his preaching." Dr. Cooper, pastor of the church in Brattle Square, Boston, resided in the
* These were the Rev. Mr. Cook of Cambridge (now West Cam- bridge), the Rev. Mr. Cushing of Waltham, the Rev. Mr. Clarke of Lexington, the Rev. Dr. Appleton of Cambridge, the Rev. Mr. Wood- ward of Weston and the Rey. Mr. Merriam of Newton.
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country on account of the troubles in the metropolis, and preached in Watertown for a considerable time .*
It was not till November, 1777, that any movement was made towards the settlement of a minister. At that time, the town voted unanimously to concur with the church in the choice of Mr. Daniel Adams. He accept- ed the invitation, and was ordained on the 29th of April, 1778. " In consideration of the extraordinary price of the necessaries of life," he was to have £150 in addition to his salary for the first year. A promise was also given him that such grants should be made, from time to time, as the state of the medium, or other circumstances, might render just and reasonable. At the ordination of Mr. Adams, I have been inform- ed, the sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Pren- tiss of Medfield, and the charge delivered by the Rev. Dr. Appleton of Cambridge. I have not learned who performed the other services of the occasion.
In 1778 Watertown again became the seat of gov- ernment for a short time. The small-pox prevailed in Boston to such a degree, as to excite no little alarm ; and it was on that account (as appears by the State Records) that the House of Representatives request- ed the Council to grant them an adjournment. On the 30th of May, 1778, they wese accordingly adjourn- ed to meet on the next Tuesday, June 2d, at Water- town. There they assembled, and held the remain- der of the session. They resumed their session at Boston in September, 1778.
The settlement of Mr. Adams was regarded by his people as an event of happy promise ; but their pleas- ant hopes were doomed soon to be struck down by the premature death of their pastor. In August fol- lowing his ordination he fell sick of the dysentery, which was then prevalent, and after a violent and
* February 12th, 1776, the Selectmen " signed an order on the treas- nrer to pay the Rev. Dr. Samuel Cooper £20 in part for his service in the work of the ministry in Watertown,"
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painful illness of about six weeks died, on Wednesday, the 16th of September, in the thirty-third year of his age. His ministry, consequently, was of less than half a year's duration. On the Saturday following his death, he was buried in the tomb of Mr. Capen, one of his parishioners, and his funeral sermon was preach- ed by the Rev. Mr. Cushing of Waltham. He was cut off in the morning of usefulness and of hope, and his valuable labors were remembered with a melan- choly and touching interest, for the brevity which God was pleased to assign to them.
The Rev. Daniel Adams was the only son of Elisha Adams, Esq., of Medway, where he was born in Janu- ary, 1746. He was of the fifth generation from Hen- ry Adams, a Puritan emigrant, who came from Dev- onshire, England, about the year 1630, and settled in Braintree, now Quincy .* He was prepared for col- lege under the tuition of the Rev. Jonathan Town- send of Medfield, and was graduated at Harvard Col- lege in 1774. Being then of mature age, he imme- diately began the study of theology, which he pursu- ed, partly with the Rev. Mr. Bucknam of his native town, and partly with the Rev. Mr. Brown of Sher- burne. He was received, as a preacher, with gener- al and high approbation ; and about the time when he was called to Watertown, he also had an invitation to settle at Princeton. Short as was his connexion with his people, he won their confidence and attach-
* To the memory of this man, the late venerable and eminent John Adams, the second President of the United States, who was one of his descendants, erected a monument in Quincy with an inscription. From this inscription the following is an extract. "In memory of HENRY ADAMS, who took his flight from the Dragon persecution, in Devonshire, England, and alighted with eight sons near Mount Wol- laston. One of the sons returned to England ; and, after taking some time to explore the country, four removed to Medfield and the neigh- bouring towns ; two to Chelmsford. One only, Joseph, who lies here at his left hand, remained here, who was an original proprietor in the township of Braintree, incorporated in 1639." See Farmer's Genea- logical Register.
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ment in no common degree ; and those, who now re- member him, bear witness to the great respect, in which his services and character were held. His ear- ly death was deeply and sincerely lamented by his parishioners, and the kind attention, with which they had treated him, especially during his sickness, was continued to his family after his decease. His preach- ing is said to have been of the most edifying and im- pressive character. When the General Court, as be- fore mentioned, met in Watertown in 1778, Mr. Ad- ams was their chaplain ; and his fervor and power in discharging the duties of that station were long remem- bered, cvincing the earnestness with which he enter- ed into the public interests of that anxious and trying period. His power as a singer was very remarkable; and it is related that at his funeral the choir of sing- ers, whom he had been accustomed to lead from the pulpit, were so much affected, that it was with great difficulty they could proceed in the performance of their part at the solemnity. He left a widow, and one son. Another son was born after the father's death. Both his children are now living .* During his short ministry, eight were baptized, and two ad- mitted to the church. I do not find, that any of his writings were published.
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